


Scars

by sunkissedcrow



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, Gen, M/M, hq rare pair weekend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 05:09:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5730616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunkissedcrow/pseuds/sunkissedcrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They didn't wear the same scars.</p><p>or, Kageyama tries to ask Kenma a question.</p><p>(set on the last day of the summer training camp)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> written, sort of last minute, for the haikyuu!! rare pair weekend day 2 prompt: scars (my title is so creative lol)
> 
> rated T cause of this one swear word? not actually certain on how the ratings work, but yeah. deeply unbeta'd

Kageyama only built up enough courage to ask Kenma _the_ question on the last day of the summer training camp. It was a question he had hidden at the side of his cheek every time they exchanged proper words, which was about four times in total so far.

Perhaps it was too soon to ask someone a question of this nature, seeing that they were still between acquaintances and friends. It wasn’t a question of technique or of advice. Kageyama admitted the question was more for himself than for the benefit of Karasuno.

_Have you ever hit a wall?_

As a setter, Kageyama was eager to learn from those who set. Sugawara-san, to be begin with, an experienced setter who had worked with their team’s ace and captain since his first year. Oikawa-san, his first teacher, refused to actually teach him in their junior high days, but his undeniable talent and ostentatious personality made it easy for Kageyama to learn from observation.

Finally, there was Kenma.

His nature was almost the exact opposite as Oikawa-san’s; Kenma was invisible, wasn’t attention grabbing like Oikawa was. He was quiet, at the centre of his team, while Oikawa stood at the front of his, challenging their opponents to cross their paths.

Kageyama’s first unprecedented attempt to get to know Kenma had resulted in the latter boy running away from him. He didn’t quite realize until much later that his questions hadn’t been purely technical based; he wasn’t just curious, eager to learn from a setter with so much experience and skills. No, he wanted to _know_ Kenma.

For the first time, he found a setter who was…quite like him, and that was new, to say the least.

 

The scene when it happened was during the feast.

Kageyama had planned on staying near the barbeque pits to ensure Hinata didn’t steal the pieces he was eying, naturally, but after he choked on a piece of beef, he decided to take a break.

Holding the cup of water Akaashi-san handed him, Kageyama lingered awkwardly, behind those who are crowding near the barbeque pits. He glanced around, looking at or for nothing particularly. He took a sip of water, moving his eyes to near the doors of the gym.

At the same moment, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi decided to move away from their previous positions at the left side of steps. The only person who was left was Kenma-san, on the other side of the steps, poking at an abnormally big piece of onigiri with his chopsticks.

Kageyama pressed his lips together, taking in a small breath from his nose. Perhaps now was a good time…?

Suddenly Kenma looked up and Kageyama immediately looked away, still shy about approaching the Nekoma setter. He hoped he was fast and casual enough in looking away; Kenma-san was observant, to state the obvious, he probably felt the weight of someone’s eyes on him, someone who wasn’t familiar like Kuroo or Hinata, or Lev even.

While Kagayama was trying to make himself _not_ suspicious and planning a possible venture over to Kenma’s side, he met the eyes of Suga-san.

With his head tilted to a side, his senpai flashed him a cheek grin.

Kageyama’s eyes widened a bit. The other setter held a knowing look in his eyes, and he jerked his head towards the gym door, towards Kenma. Taken back, Kagayama nodded and Suga turned away with a smile, back to his own conversation with Yaku and Kai.

He approached Kenma, repeating in his head what he told himself each time he did this. _Don’t glare at things, keep your arms natural, open your mouth and speak…_

Kenma raised his gold eyes when Kageyama neared him.

“Kenma,” Kageyama greeted, standing awkwardly near the steps. The Nekoma setter regarded him with still eyes, and Kageyama swallowed under the scrutiny. “I wanted—” he stumbled, reverted back to the first time he tried to talk to Kenma properly. He had the so-called “advice” from Hinata that time, who told him not to be “ _so Kageyama_ ” and “try not to glare so much, you’ll scare away Kenma again.”

The corner of Kenma’s lips twitched.

Kageyama’s first reaction to this was to bow slightly. “Thank you for answering my questions,” he said in one breath.

Kenma replied after a pause. “No problem.”

“Um…” Kageyama hesitated. “May I?” He gestured towards the space next to Kenma.

Kenma nodded, watching Kageyama’s following movements carefully. They sat in a few moments of silence, and Kageyama was very much sweating internally.

He didn’t quite know how to approach the subject. When he asked Kenma his other questions, Hinata had been there, which made things both easier and harder. Easier because Kenma was comfortable with Hinata, and the short boy smoothed over Kageyama’s lack of social skills. But also harder since it seemed that Kageyama had grown reliant on Hinata’s presence, seeing how he didn’t quite know what to do now.

He had complimented Kenma’s setting already, the second—first?—time they talked, and it would be odd if Kageyama did it again, right? Right?

“Ah,” Kagayama began, “the food—the food is good, huh?”

Kenma’s eyes flickered down to his own full plate of food. “I guess,” he said, poking an onigiri with his chopsticks again. “They gave me too much, though.”

The first thought that came into Kageyama’s mind was _not_ that he would eat it for Kenma if the other didn’t want it. Even if it was, he didn’t vocalize that thought.

He noticed Kenma’s phone was at his side instead of in his hands. “Were you playing something on your phone before?” he asked.

Kenma glanced over to his phone, and glanced downwards. “Sort of,” he answered. He added after a brief pause, “Shouyou told me about a new game.”

Kageyama nodded. _Now fucking what?_ He took a sip of water.

“You can just ask me,” Kenma said with a small sigh.

Kageyama almost choked the second time in a day. “I—” he tried, looking at Kenma with surprise.

Kenma picked up a piece of barbequed beef effortlessly. “Just ask,” he repeated.

Kageyama rubbed the back of his head. _Here goes nothing._ “You’re close to Kuroo-san,” he started slowly.

“He’s my best friend,” Kenma confirmed quietly, eyes flickering over to where Kuroo was standing, laughing at something Bokuto said.

“Do you—Are you close to your other teammates?”

Kenma looked at him, now, an eyebrow slightly raised. “We’re a team,” he simply said. Pause. Then Kenma’s eyes changed and Kageyama could only frown in confusion. “I’m closer to them this year, after they gave me the official role of setter. My first year wasn’t like this.”

Kageyama was almost afraid to ask. “What was it like?”

“I wanted to quit.”

_Have you ever hit a wall?_

Surprised, Kageyama parted his mouth while Kenma picked up a piece of grilled bell pepper and ate it. “There was a third year setter, so all I got to do, and what other first years got to do, was be bossed around by our senpais. It wasn’t…fun anymore. There didn’t seem to be a point,” Kenma elaborated slowly. He swallowed and looked at Kageyama. “Kuroo convinced to me stay, in the end.”

Kageyama blinked. “Oh,” he responded quietly.

Still holding, Kageyama’s gaze, Kenma seemed to have considered his words before speaking. “You ask a lot of questions,” he commented.

Kageyama furrowed his eyebrows. “I want to learn from you. You have experience, and you’re a highly skilled setter.”

“Not a genius like you,” Kenma retorted.

Kageyama frowned harder. “That’s not the point,” he said in slight frustration, and Kenma’s eyes widened. “There’s always room for improvement, new things to be learnt, and I want to—” Kageyama stopped, realizing where that train of thought was going.

“You want…?” Kenma repeated, eyes narrowing.

_I want to know you._

“Uh.” Kageyama shook his head. He paused. “Thank you, again, for sharing with me.”

Kenma frowned. “You’re welcome,” he said this time, still regarding Kageyama with careful eyes. He looked down at his plate next. “Do you want my onigiri?”

Kageyama’s eyes glimmered.

 

They didn’t wear the same scars, but perhaps their scars were of the same type.

At one point they felt alone, and their roles on their teams, their relation to the team, were challenged. But they were both here, now, under the sun, immersed in the noise and cheer of their fellow teammates and future rivals.

In the span of the training camp, whenever Kageyama shyly asked, Kenma had answered. Perhaps, in the future, Kageyama could share something about himself to Kenma too.

**Author's Note:**

> this it my first time contributing a fic to the hq fandom, and it has been...an interesting experience. I've started this fic like three times, and I only managed to get something I like yesterday, hence, it being sort of last minute
> 
> really hope Kenma and Kageyama turned out to be okay OTL
> 
> I'm also on tumblr if anyone wants to say hi!


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